The Storm
by Sapphire Amethyst Blue
Summary: "Flora dear, are you alright?" "Y-yes, I just...I don't like thunderstorms"


_I do not own the Professor Layton franchise, that is the property of Level-5_

Rain rattled against the windows of the apartment, the wind roared loudly, bright flashes of lightning illuminated the sky followed almost immediately by crashes of thunder. News reporters had said that it would be the worst thunderstorm of the year, and had cautioned people to stay indoors for the evening, the few who hadn't complied found themselves drenched to the bone and shivering in the chilly October air.

Inside one of the apartments, Flora Reinhold curled up tightly under her sheets, burying her brunette head under a pillow in attempt to muffle the noise. During a brief pause in the clamor, she lifted the pillow slightly and peaked out from underneath; the clock on her bedside table read _12: 46 AM. _She shivered, she hadn't gotten a wink of sleep that night, every time she was about to doze off…

_CRASH! _

Thunder struck the metal roof of the building, Flora gave a slight yelp and curled herself into a ball. The noise eventually became a dull roar, and slowly faded away. She sighed, knowing she'd feel terrible in the morning due to her lack of sleep. _Maybe some warm milk will calm my nerves, _she thoughtpassively. Deciding this was a better course of action than staying in bed and hoping she would drift off, she pushed away the sheets and stepped lightly out of bed, shivering slightly as her bare feet touched the wood floor; much colder than the nice, warm blankets.

She left her small bedroom and tiptoed quietly through the corridor until she reached the kitchen, she opened the door with a slight _creak…_

"Good morning."

She gasped and turned around, "oh, Professor! I'm sorry, did I wake you up?"

He laughed good-naturedly "no need to apologize, I'm a terribly light sleeper. But what are you doing up so early?"

"I…couldn't sleep."

"Ah" Professor Layton nodded, "a bit of insomnia every now and again is perfectly normal."

"I was going to get some warm milk…"

"An excellent idea!" He opened the door to the kitchen and gestured towards the kitchen "after you."

"Thank you." Flora sat at the kitchen table while Layton turned on the stove and filled a small frying pan with milk. Flora knew he wouldn't let her do it. Having seen Flora's cooking, Layton was quite certain that if she made it herself the result would be far from appetizing, though he'd never say that to her. The two were silent for a while, when the milk was ready he poured it into a mug and set it on the table in front of her. "There you are."

"Thanks." Said Flora, she put the cup to her lips.

_CRASH! _

Flora jumped, spilling some of the milk in the process.

"Quite the storm we're having." Remarked Layton, glancing out the window.

Flora nodded, shuddering slightly.

He looked at her with concern, "Flora, dear, are you alright?"

"Y-yes, I'm fine, I just…I don't like thunderstorms."

Layton smiled, "I know what you mean; thunder frightened me as well, when I was your age."

She was quiet for a moment, finally she asked, "why are you up so early?"

"I told you, I'm a light sleeper."

"Right." Quickly changing the subject, she asked "how long has Luke been your apprentice?"

He couldn't help but chuckle, Flora rarely stayed with one subject for a long period of time. He thought about it for a moment "about…five or six years now, I suppose?"

"Really? Who went with you on your big adventures before him? Did you have a different apprentice?"

Layton's smile faltered slightly, "I had an assistant; her name was Emmy Altava." Years later, it was still a painful subject for him to talk about.

Flora rubbed her right eyelid. "What was she like?"

Layton crossed his arms, considering the right way to describe Emmy to Flora. "She was…kind" he began "and intelligent. Fierce, sometimes a bit of a tease, especially to Luke." He didn't want to tell her that Emmy had betrayed him, he believed she deserved better than that, but he didn't want to lie to Flora either.

"What kind of adventures did you go on?" Asked Flora with a yawn.

He sighed, "where to begin?" He sat in that chair for what didn't feel like a very long time to either of them, recounting the many adventures he had had with Emmy, and Luke later on, leaving out strenuous details that he didn't care to discuss. Flora listened intently at first, but slowly her eyelids began to droop and her figure slumped down into the chair.

"You of course have met Don Paolo, but even before he came into the picture there was someone who presented a constant, erm… _challenge_ for the three of us, his name was…"

"Mmm"

He looked up at Flora and smiled. She had fallen asleep in the chair. Careful not to wake her up, he gently lifted Flora from the chair and carried her back to her bedroom. He laid her back on the bed softly and pulled the sheets over her. She sighed and turned in her sleep.

Silently, he turned and walked out of the room, when he reached the door, he looked over his shoulder and whispered "goodnight Flora."

* * *

**Well...this was my first attempt at a PL story, so I hope it's alright (it kind of just came to me, we had a really huge thunderstorm recently!) At first I couldn't decide between writing this about Flora or Alfendi as a little kid. Eventually I chose to write it about Flora because I think I can write her character better, but that's just me.**

** Reviews are always appreciated! Constructive criticism is welcome, but please, no flaming.**

**Thanks for reading!**


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